Jun232023

The Valencia Anti-Fraud Agency facilitates the recovery of 29 million euros in 3 years and keeps 30 individuals and 1 legal person (company) protected

Valencia, June 23, 2023. Today, June 23, is the World Day of the Whistleblower of Corruption and the Agency has organized for this reason a day to commemorate this celebration that coincides with the enactment this year of Law 2/2023 on the protection of the whistleblower of corruption. 

The main conference of the day was given by Alba Lema, international president of the World Compliance Association. Alba Lema specializes in the implementation of compliance management systems as well as in the design and implementation of integrity and business ethics programs in organizations, both nationally and internationally.

This was followed by a round table moderated by the Agency’s Deputy Director of Legal Affairs, Teresa Clemente, with the participation of Arturo León, President of the Economic and Social Committee (ESC); Ana Móner, vice president of the Valencian Association of Consumers (AVACU), and Juan Vega, lawyer of the Agency.

The director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, opened the conference and highlighted “the importance of a day like today in which we want to value the fundamental role played by people who alert, report or report fraud and corruption”. “The Agency was the first authority in Spain to have a Protection Statute for whistleblowers of corruption and currently has 30 individuals and one legal person (company) under protection,” added Llinares.

“This effective protection of whistleblowers, together with the more than 29 million euros of recoverable amounts in the last 3 years, are undoubtedly the best guarantees of the work carried out by the Agency. To this we have to add all that intangible value that cannot be quantified in money derived from the training and prevention actions that the Agency carries out in terms of ethics and public integrity.  How many people have not committed an act of fraud and corruption knowing that there is an Agency that can investigate and prosecute this type of action?” concluded Llinares.

 

Jun222023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency presents the book “Code of Integrity of the Valencian Community”

Valencia, June 22, 2023.-  The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has presented this morning in the Assembly Hall of the building annexed to the Corts Valencianes the book “Code of Integrity of the Valencian Community” that has been published together with the publishing house Tirant Lo Blanch.

The book reviews the main international standards to continue with European, state and regional regulations. This book is configured as a practical tool for all those people and institutions that want to access the published regulations on integrity, also providing a novel methodology that also includes a glossary of terms and an analytical index.

The publication has been made both in paper format and in e-book format for digital consultation which also has an expanded and commented selection of the regulations contained in the paper edition. This digital edition will also allow the permanent updating of the regulations as they change or expand.

The presentation was given by Marisa Cuerda, president of the Ethics Committee of the Agency and professor of Criminal Law at the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, who highlighted the role played by the Agency in improving the corruption rates of the Valencian Community as highlighted by the European Commission or the State Attorney General’s Office.

For her part, Irene Bravo, head of prevention of the Agency and coordinator of the publication, has pointed out the novel aspect of this code as it is a pioneer in the regional and state level that wants to contribute to the consolidation of the culture of public integrity in the Valencian Community.

María Campo, director of edition of Tirant Lo Blanch thanked the collaboration with the Agency for the edition of this work that she hopes will contribute to democratic regeneration and to face “a corruption that breaks our democratic system into pieces”.

Finally, Joan Llinares, director of the Agency, pointed out that “codification is a legal technique that helps all those who have to apply, defend and develop laws, integrity being the largest source of income for public administrations”.

You can access the electronic publication at the following link

Jun212023

The protection and support measures for whistleblowers, the participation of the AVAF in the DeBlanc Chair at the UV

Valencia.- June 20, 2023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participated in the course Relevant aspects in criminal matters of the new regulation of reporting channels in the Spanish legal system of the Deblanc Chair of the University of Valencia.

Joan Llinares, director of the Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community, presented the conference on the Protection and support measures for whistleblowers provided for in Spanish and regional regulations. The protection authority, highlighting during its intervention that Law 2/2023 represents a turning point in Spanish legislation, called to change the country’s culture of public integrity.

The course addressed some of the debates that arise, in criminal matters, on the occasion of Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption. The participating speakers were Pablo Ponce Martínez. prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community; José León Alapont, assistant professor of Criminal Law at the University of Valencia, and Andrea Andreu Gutiérrez, doctoral student at the University of Valencia.


The University Chair of the application of statistical, economic and machine learning methodologies for the detection of financial crimes and money laundering (Deblanc Chair) of the University of Valencia and the Ministry of Justice, Interior and Public Administration, has as its main objective to assist technically to judges and prosecutors of the Valencian Community in the fight against financial-economic crimes and money laundering or corruption. To achieve this objective, the Chair contributes to the training of university students and personnel linked to the administration of justice in the fight and detection of economic crimes and money laundering, offering assistance and training by qualified personnel in economic and accounting matters, financial, statistical and machine learning.